VanEck Ventures is launching a $30 million fund focused on early-stage companies in fintech, digital assets, and AI convergence. This move is expected to boost the overall crypto market, as venture capital plays a crucial role in driving growth and innovation in the space.

Former Circle Ventures executives Wyatt Lonergan and Juan Lopez will lead the fund as general partners at VanEck.

The new fund aims to transform finance through investments in stablecoins and AI technologies. VanEck Ventures will complement the firm’s existing crypto ETFs and private funds, targeting promising startups in the blockchain and digital asset sectors.

By investing in early-stage companies, VanEck Ventures is poised to spark innovation and support the development of groundbreaking projects. The fund’s focus on stablecoin technologies could accelerate their integration into various payment systems and expand their use in everyday transactions.

The investment strategy also includes backing DeFi firms working on tokenization, which could attract more users and liquidity to the space. Additionally, investments in AI startups may lead to improved financial services and more efficient payment solutions.

VanEck’s strong reputation in the crypto investment world lends credibility to this new venture, potentially boosting overall market confidence and encouraging more participants to engage with the crypto ecosystem.

The fund will primarily target companies working on stablecoin technologies, especially those focused on cross-border payments. It also plans to invest in AI startups to enhance efficiency in financial services. The fund aims to make 25 to 35 investments ranging from $500,000 to $1 million each.

VanEck has been a pioneer in the cryptocurrency space, filing for the first bitcoin-linked ETF in 2017 and being among the first to file for a spot Bitcoin ETF in 2018. The company’s dedication to the sector is evident in its early filings for various crypto-related investment products.

Juan Lopez, one of the fund’s leaders, envisions stablecoins leveraging blockchains like Solana to enable near-instant, low-cost transfers within the next five years. This emerging fintech space has the potential to redefine global payment infrastructures, creating an open-source “banking-as-a-service” layer.

As stablecoins continue to gain traction beyond crypto trading, banks and payment companies are exploring ways to integrate them into their systems. Recent developments, such as Visa’s partnership with Singapore’s dtcpay to expand crypto payments and Swift’s plans to test digital asset settlements, highlight the growing interest in stablecoin adoption across the financial industry.